Introduction to Hydrology and

Hydrologic Principles- Part A

Ahmad Sana, Ph.D.

School of Civil Engineering
PNG University of Technology, Lae
Papua New Guinea
[email protected]
1

Water on Earth

Saltwater
97%

Ice
2%
Freshwater
1%

1
2
 Fresh water Soil water, rivers
and biological Lakes
water 1.03%
0.67%

Groundwater
(less than 1km
Groundwater deep)
(greater than 1km 39.3%
deep)
59%

If all the world's water were fit into a gallon (3.785 liter)
jug, the fresh water available for us to use would equal
only about one tablespoon.
3

There is the same amount of water on Earth as there was

when the Earth was formed. The water from your faucet
could contain molecules that dinosaurs drank. 4

2
4
 Water and life

 Water regulates the Earth’s temperature. It also

regulates the temperature of the human body,
carries nutrients and oxygen to cells, cushions
joints, protects organs and tissues, and removes
wastes.
 75% of a living tree is water.
 Human brains are 75% water.
 Human bones are 25% water.
 Human blood is 83% water.
 A person can live about a month without food, but
only about a week without water.
5

Problems in Hydrodynamics and

Hydrology
 Extreme weather and rainfall variation
 Streamflow and major flood devastation
 River routing and hydraulic conditions
 Overall water supply - local and global scales
 Flow and hydraulics in pipes, streams and channels
 Flood control and drought measures
 Watershed management for urban development

3
6
 History of Hydrology
 Chezy’s Channel Formula in the 1780s
 Open channel flow experiments - 1800s
 Darcy and Dupuit laws of ground water - 1850s
 Manning’s Eqn - Open Channel Flow – 1889
 Penman (1948) - complete theory of evaporation
 Great urban expansion in 1950s and 60s - led to
demand for better water supply and prediction
(after WW II)

Major Computer Advances

 Stanford watershed Model of 1966 - first digital code
 USDA and others developed codes in mid 1970s
 US Army Corps of Engineers Hydrologic Engineering
Center (HEC) models - 1970s to the present
 HEC-HMS and HEC-RAS (1990s)
 EPA in 1969 - Storm Water Management Model
(SWMM)
 Numerous research-based models
 Countless commercial models (Telemac, Mike series,
Delft series)

4
8
 Major Hydrologic Processes
 Precipitation (measured by radar or rain gage)
 Evaporation or ET (loss to atmosphere)
 Infiltration (loss to subsurface soils)
 Overland flow (sheet flow toward nearest stream)
 Streamflow (measured flow at stream gage)
 Ground water flow and well mechanics
 Water quality and contaminant transport (S & GW)

10

5
10
 The Watershed or Basin

 Area of land that drains to a single outlet and is

separated from other watersheds by a drainage
divide.
 Rainfall that falls in a watershed will generate
runoff to that watershed outlet.
 Topographic elevation is used to define a
watershed boundary (land survey or LIDAR)
 Scale is a big issue for analysis

11

11

12

6
12
 Watershed Characteristics
Divide

 Size
 Slope Reservoir

 Shape Natural
stream

Urban
 Soil type
 Storage capacity Concrete
channel

13

13

The Watershed Response - Hydrograph

 As rain falls over a watershed area, a certain portion will
infiltrate the soil. Some water will evaporate to
atmosphere.
 Rainfall that does not infiltrate or evaporate is available as
overland flow and runs off to the nearest stream.
 Smaller tributaries or streams then begin to flow and
contribute their load to the main channel at confluences.
 As accumulation continues, the streamflow rises to a
maximum (peak flow) and a flood wave moves downstream
through the main channel.
 The flow eventually recedes or subsides as all areas drain
out.

14

7
14
 Watershed Response
Tributary

 Precipitation over the area

 Portion Infiltrates the soil
 Portion Evaporates or ET back Reservoir

 Remainder - Overland Flow Natural

stream

Urban
 Overland flow - Channel flow
 Final Hydrograph at Outlet
Concrete
channel

15 T

15

Watershed with contours

16

8
16
 Length measures in a watershed

17

17

Hydrologic Theory
 One of the principal objectives in hydrology
is to transform rainfall that has fallen over a
watershed area into flows to be expected in
the receiving stream.
 Losses must be considered such as
infiltration or evaporation (long-term)
 Watershed characteristics are important

18

9
18
 A Note on Units

 Rainfall volume is normally measured in inches or cm

 Rainfall rate or intensity in inches/hr or cm/hr
 Infiltration is measured in inches/hr or cm/hr
 Evaporation is measured in inches or in/hr (cm/hr)
 Streamflow is measured in cfs or m3/s
 One acre-ft of volume is 43,560 ft3 of water
 1 ac-inch/hr is approx. equal to 1.008 cfs
 Ground water flows are measured as ft3/day or m3/day

19

19

The water balance

dS
I Q 
dt
I = inflow in L3/T
Q = outflow in L3/T
dS/dt= Change in storage per unit time in L3/T

20

10
20
 The water balance

P  R  G  E  T  S
P = precipitation
R = surface runoff
G= groundwater flow
E=evaporation
T=transpiration
S=change in storage in a specified time period

21

21

Questions?

22

11
22